Knee protector, elbow guard, and the like



July 27, 1943. P. o. HUBNER ET AL KNEE PROTECTORS, ELBOW GUARDS AND THE LIKE Filed April 1, 1941 Patented'July 27, 1943 m n I 11$: 1 1 Hi e a bee -customary r ma e e. protectors, guards or the like out of asinglepiece *7 NI- 3 STAT-3E3 if atheist, Ema-w I .1111 LIKE 7 Paul' otte' Hub er, cesarean;

-' --'Transva'al,-and- Michael Dfocherty', G-ermistom' Y 1' Y Transvaal, Union of Southf tfrica" is. 1

, A ic ualapi-ii'i,1941,32: I

" In the U1 1ion,or Sou th Africa'Mar I 3 Claims; (Cl. 2-'-22 'This inventio-n relatesto kneeprotectors,elbow, r I I guards n euch. s a eus d=ior am ergeu e Ie r e uive cntqr se ra piecesof suchmaterial united-rigidly together.'

With this single-piece or rigid construction, howeverjthe protector, guard or, the like does-not em: brace or accommodate itself closely to the parts of, the leg or armin every position. For example,

when the wearer kneels, 'or bends his armQa por-,

tion of the protectonfguard orthe. like, and the part of theleg o'rfarni' adjacent thereto, 'move apart and dust, loose stones or the like ent'er the intervening spac'eand may lodge'between the protector, guard or the like "and the leg or arm, producing'discomfort or irritation. 1 I .f The object oithe present'invention is e or eliminate this disadvantage and provide a protector, guard or thelike which will both allow .rreedom of movement and be proof against the entrance of dust, stone'sor the like as aforesaid.

According to the invention, we provide a knee part of Gillian; AND

v ohannesburg,

5mg." an an enlarged seju6iiia1y1 w show ng, therlexed position. of the guar' member 5 R e in -i i e iiew n T'Th'e kn e'pad l' "s'm ideou t of, apiece vof lrlubber' which is offth concave s a e illustrated.

so as to accommodate. the. knee cap; .flfhe'shin guar z sr rmea at. the top, wit thickened; co avejcap 3, and has-ah arcuate ottom edge t;

2) ,andare adapted tobe'"as'seinbledtogether with with; eachother. A stud ,orfrivet l is adapted to be passed through I'e'ach pair of holes 5, 1 5, the' p'ad g I being their pivotallys ecured to ;thefjcap 'tfso. I hat h ien it yh a ab eachi t e i g rovided at the topj'witha ru ber (f r Qt rstrap 8' atonefsid e'and with a Theshin guard 2 isfprovi ded with rubber or other straps in at one side and buckles H at the other knee protector, elbow guard or the like which comprises a pair of crepe rubber or like mem-* that whilst permitting necessary movement of the 1 knee or elbow, the pivotal or flexing joint between them is closed, to the exclusion of dust, small stones and the like in allpositions.

A combined knee pad and shin guard embodying the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a view of the pad and elevation.

Fig. 2 is a corresponding viewin side elevation, with the pad and guard shown detached from each other.

Fig. 3 is a side view in'vertical half-section of I the pad and guard, taken on the line 3-3 (Fig. 1)

guard in front a side, by which'means the guard 2 can be secured 1 tothe leg below the knee. p With the combined padand guard described, when the wearer bends hisknee, as in walking,

sitting or kneeling, the pad I and cap v3 hinge 1 about each other, their adjacent surfaces always remaining in close contact, at leastin part, e. g.

atthe lower edge of the knee pad. In this manher, the entry of dust, loose stones or the like between these parts, into the interior of the pad and guard, is prevented, whilst ensuring to the f wearer freedom of movement. Entrance of dust orsrnall stones'between -the knee pad I and the wearers knee during kneeling or squatting is also prevented by reason of the strapping of the pad to the leg above. the knee by the strap 8 and buckle!) already referred to.

As will be seen from Fig. 3,, the upper strap iii. of the shin guard 2' is vulcanised or otherwise secured to the interior of the guard a short dis-- tance belowthe termination of the thickened cap 3. The material of the guard lying within this area, i. e. between theca'p 3 and upper strap ill, constitutes a relatively flexible zone, about which 'flexure of the cap 3 relatively to the main body of the guard 2- may take place.

Various modifications may be made in the knee pad and shin guard described without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, wire gauze or other reinforcement may be embedded in the rubber or other constituent mate- 'ecnbna pit yiew th n e.

p a pad. i r at ev cap :3 pr t eieuare 12 are formed respectively with holes EJand e'gisee Fig.

rial. Moreover, the said materialmay be lined interiorly with fabric, or may have its outer surface hard in relation to its inner surface, which is soft so as to enhance the comfort of the user;

While the knee pad and shin guard illustrated have been shown to consist of two parts, a knee protector, elbow guard or the like made according to the invention may comprise more than two or flexibly connected to the centre portion.

While the straps'may be secured totheknee portions, e. g. three portions, viz. a central por-c tion dished or shaped to accommodate the knee W or elbow, and upper and lower portions hingeably y 1 pad and shin guard 'aforesaid ;in'-any;suitable manner, there are'advantages in securing, the,

upper and lower straps of the shin guard in the manner following, viz. so that each of the, straps is vulcanised ,or otherwise secured to the interior of the guard at points spacedapart on each side a l of the middle of the guard, the interveningportion of the'strap being madeof shorter span-than the intervening portion of the shin guard. .In this manner, when the"strap istightened about the leg, there "remains a'certa'inspace" between it and the guard, which obviates undue creasing, and restriction of movement, or 'the"g uard. This is particularly' advantageous in the ease of thestrap located just below the knee whereundue buckling or deformation of the, guard is other wise apt to take place. In addition, the space between the leg and guard' permits of atone. venient degree ofv'entilation. j

For'the sake of conciseness the terrn"protec-' tor is used in the appended claims "to, include knee protectors, elbow'guards and the like} 1 f We claim; f l. A protector,,, including] upper -and"l'ower guard members shaped to accommodate alimb" above and, below the'joint thereog the lower member accommodating the joint and a portion portion of greater rigidity of the lower member,

and means for swingingly connecting the members to permit play of the members in joint move- -ment of the limb, whereby in such limb movement the lower arcuate edge of the upper member exerts a pressure on the portion of greater rigidity of the lower, member and flexes the lower member atthe flexible area topermit relative movement of such'section of greater rigidity to 'maintain substantial contact between the lower edge of the upper member and that portion of greater rigidity of the lower member during limb o ti I,

2. 'A'construction as defined in claim 1, whe'rein there is provided a single limb-securing means for'the upper member, including a strap connected to the uppermember' immediately adja cent to and extended inlinewith the upper edge of the upper member and remote from the lower edge of the upper memben'the upper member being otherwise free of connectionwith the limb.

"33 A construction as defined in claiml', wherein the upper and lower members are each provided of the limb below the joint, a fastening member to secure the lowerlmember in place, theupper on one longitudinal edge with a s'trapand" adja; cent the other longitudinal edgewith a cooperating buckle, the buckles beingconnected' to'the members inwardly of the adjacent edge of the member to cause the] material of the member to fully underlie the buckle inany position of the K latter and act as acushi'on' to protect thev'limb from buckle contact and pressuref rarm'o'rro Krishna; V 

